Here’s what I whipped up:

Okra Hair Conditioner
1. Wash a handful of okra pods and cut them into 2″ pieces.
2. Fill a pot with about an inch of water.

3. Toss the okra in the pot, and set the water to boil.

 4. When boiled, okra secretes a mucilage that’s chock with hearty fiber. Boil for 20 minutes, remove from heat and allow to steep for 10 minutes.

5. Pour the entire contents of the pot into a jar. 

6. Allow the okra to continue steeping overnight.

7. The liquid is now thicker and slimier.

8. Strain the mucilage from the okra. Refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.

I’ve heard of many Naturalistas use the mucilage as a hair styling gel for light hold. I use it simply to moisturize and condition (leave-in) my tresses after washing—makes the strands mucho soft! Pimp your ‘poo with a couple of tablespoons of the mucilage to give your scalp a vitamin-packed punch. Mix the mucilage with equal parts apple cider vinegar and you have great final hair rinse—this has been said to be great for treating lice.

So what to do with the left over okra pods?

Okra Facial Masque

I threw them in the blender, added a 1/4 cup of water and pureed into an awesome green facial masque. I spread the mixture fairly thick onto my face, let it sit for 15 minutes, and then rinsed with warm water. My skin felt like butter, and pleasantly tight.

As with all beauty recipes, performing a patch test is always a good idea in the event that you are allergic to a particular ingredient.

Do you eat okra? Have you ever used okra in your beauty regimen?

The post For the Mixtresses: Okra Hair Conditioner + Facial Masque appeared first on lola zabeth.

For a while I’ve wanted to scrap Lola’s Leave-in and rebuild it without relying on the crutch of Trader Joe Nourish Spa Conditioner. This new mix will be cheaper to produce, and I’ll have complete control of every item used.  I purchased the ingredients some time ago, and then pretty much did nothing. But I finally slowed down a nudge and “got my beakers out”.

Notice that preservatives are intentionally omitted. This batch will be small, refrigerated and used before its shelf life expires. I’ve been reading up on natural preservatives, so we’ll cross that bridge at a later date. Anyhoo, if this goes well, I’ll accessorize it and infuse it with some other goodies, but for now I’m gonna keep it simple with this oil-in-water (meaning more water than oil) using ingredients that I know play nicely with my curls.

Also worth mentioning are the BTMS-50 and cetyl alcohol. The BTMS is an emulsifier (the glue that holds water and oil mixtures together), and both are conditioning agents. BTMS-50 is vegetable-based and derived from the natural plant oil colza (rapeseed oil). Cetyl alcohol (fatty alcohol, not the drying kind) is derived from vegetable oils like coconut oil and palm oil, and can give mixes a nice texture. Both will thicken up your mix good and fat, and help with combability and detangling.

Stay tuned for the deets on how this turns out…

Also, for everything you’ve always wanted to know about emulsifiers, check out Emulsifiers: An overview over at one of my fave blogs, Point of Interest! (thx Briana for mentioning)!

How about you? Did you work on any projects this weekend? Have you ever been to the movies by yourself?

The post In the lab: Lola’s Leave-In Redux appeared first on lola zabeth.

This moisturizing hair cream combines soft, creamy Shealoe Butter with Amla Oil and Mahabhringraj Oil, two Ayurvedic Oils that are especially beneficial to hair care treatments.  Amla Oil can help to strengthen hair at the root, improve scalp condition, and encourage the growth of healthier hair.  Mahabhringraj Oil can help to inhibit the frequency of gray hair, and help prevent hair loss.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce Amla Oil
• 1 ounces Mahabhringraj Oil
• 2 ounces Shealoe Butter

Get the full scoop on this recipe over at The Natural Beauty Workshop!

The post For the Mixtresses: Ayurvedic Hair Cream appeared first on lola zabeth.

Just mixed up a batch of the recipe that I use most consistently. I eyeball my measurements, adjusting the proportions depending on my hair’s current needs. I use this as a leave-in/daily moisturizer. Although the Trader Joe Nourish Spa Conditioner has preservatives, I still refrigerate it because of the aloe vera juice.

Lola’s Leave-In Hair Conditioner

Ingredients

• 1 cup Trader Joe Nourish Spa Conditioner; moisturizing base.
• 1/4 cup aloe vera juice; moisturizing and ideally pH balanced for hair.
• 1/8 cup castor oil; locks in moisture and acts as a barrier agent against the elements.
• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil (antifungal, antibacterial, loaded with anitoxidants, said to combat hair loss) or coconut oil (penetrates the hair shaft to condition and strengthen, can prevents hygral fatigue) in the warmer months.
• 1/2 teaspoon of wheat germ oil; high percentage of ceramides which guards against protein loss

What is your tried and true, can’t-live-without-it hair care product or recipe?

The post How to Make Lola’s Leave-In Hair Conditioner appeared first on lola zabeth.